Vehicle with integrated soundscape output functionality

Abstract

Vehicle comprising means for adjusting a soundscape to be output via vehicle-owned loudspeakers (1) depending on vehicle parameters (2), characterized by a sound control module (4) implemented in a vehicle-internal computing unit (3), comprising at least one sound track input component (4.1) for reading in a sound track (5), at least one sound track manipulation component (4.2) downstream in the signal flow direction of the respective sound track input component (4.1), by means of which a respective sound track (5) can be manipulated depending on all vehicle parameters (2) to impose an effect (6), and a sound track mixer component (4.3) downstream in the signal flow direction of the respective sound track manipulation components (4.2), which is configured to receive manipulated sound tracks (5), mix them into the soundscape, and distribute them for output to the individual loudspeakers (1).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle of the type defined in more detail in the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] The background noise in a vehicle affects the well-being and attention of its occupants. For example, conversations or other noises can be distracting for the driver, while music playing in the vehicle can be pleasant and calming. Some people enjoy the sounds produced by the vehicle itself, such as squealing tires or a crisp engine noise. In particular, the occurrence of such noises during dynamic driving can support or even enhance the driver's enjoyment of driving.

[0003] In addition to purely objectively assessable facts such as engine power, fuel consumption, trunk capacity, and the like, people are also enticed to purchase a particular vehicle by emotions. Therefore, it is in a vehicle manufacturer's interest to offer potential buyers the most immersive driving experience possible, which leads to a high level of driving pleasure. It is therefore important to make the driving dynamics accessible to the driver through all sensory channels.

[0004] For this purpose, WO 2023 / 011911 A1 discloses a sound experience generator that can be used in a vehicle. The sound experience generator comprises an application executed in a vehicle for reading vehicle data, such as sensor measurements or information transmitted via a vehicle fieldbus, and for controlling a vehicle audio system. The application executed in the vehicle can process the vehicle data and forward it to an application executed on an external user device. There, the processed vehicle data is normalized and fed to a sound synthesizer. The sound synthesizer stores several different orchestrated acoustic scenes, each comprising different sets of instruments, sounds, effects, and loops. These orchestrated acoustic scenes can be selected as the input signal for playback in the vehicle.Individual channels of the instruments, sounds, effects, and loops contained in the respective orchestrated acoustic scenes are then manipulated by the sound synthesizer depending on the vehicle data. This allows new soundscapes to be generated that can be adapted to the vehicle's driving dynamics. The corresponding soundscapes are then output via the vehicle's audio system. For this purpose, the sound synthesizer transmits corresponding output data back to the application running in the vehicle. For example, individual sound tracks of the soundscape can be given effects depending on the driving situation, the vehicle's acceleration or braking, setting a specific steering angle, a gear change, the lowering of a side window, and the like.

[0005] The present invention is based on the object of providing an improved vehicle which is capable of adapting a soundscape to be output in the vehicle to the boundary conditions existing in a respective driving situation.

[0006] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a vehicle having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments emerge from the dependent claims.

[0007] A generic vehicle, comprising means for adapting a soundscape to be output via the vehicle's own loudspeakers as a function of vehicle parameters, has, according to the invention, a sound control module implemented in a vehicle-internal processing unit, comprising at least one sound track input component for reading in a sound track, at least one sound track manipulation component arranged downstream of the respective sound track input component in the signal flow direction, by means of which a respective sound track can be manipulated as a function of all vehicle parameters to impose an effect, and a sound track mixer component arranged downstream of the respective sound track manipulation components in the signal flow direction, which is configured to receive manipulated sound tracks, mix them to form the soundscape and distribute them to the individual loudspeakers for output.

[0008] By integrating the sound control module into the vehicle's own processing unit, the soundscape can be generated more efficiently, reliably, and comprehensively than with calculations on an external processing unit. Extensive manipulation of the individual sound tracks is possible because each sound track can be influenced by each vehicle parameter. This enables a particularly high degree of variation. However, this requires the sound control module to process a large amount of data. Because the sound control module is integrated into the vehicle's processing unit, no data needs to be transmitted to an external device, which reduces latency in the processing pipeline and thus increases efficiency. This also reduces the risk of a delay in calculating the soundscape, which would result in soundscape content that is suitable for a particular driving dynamics being output too late.This also increases the reliability that the positive effect on the user experience created by the soundscape actually occurs.

[0009] The sound control module can also be understood as a type of synthesizer, with which sounds in the vehicle interior can be output depending on the vehicle parameters. A wide variety of vehicle parameters are possible, such as the pedal position of the accelerator or brake pedal, acceleration imposed on the vehicle, for example, measured using acceleration sensors, the current vehicle speed, door opening status, window opening status, and the like. Corresponding vehicle parameters can be measured using internal vehicle sensors. In addition, information from the vehicle's control units can be read via a fieldbus such as a CAN bus and taken into account accordingly. Vehicle parameters are understood to be all variables measured by the vehicle.This may include, for example, the current time, a weather report obtained from a weather service provider, the driver's level of attention measured using, for example, a gaze monitoring device and / or vital signs sensors and / or the physiological state of the driver, a classification of the environment currently being driven through by the vehicle, and the like. The sound control module particularly preferably adapts the soundscape to the vehicle's driving dynamics. This ensures a particularly immersive driving experience, which enhances the driver's enjoyment and thus the overall user interaction with the vehicle.

[0010] With the aid of the sound control module according to the invention, changes can be imposed on the individual sound tracks read in via the respective sound track input components, depending on all vehicle parameters. For example, increasing the pitch of a specific sound track can be imposed as an effect. The input variable for this effect can then be not only the current acceleration value of the vehicle, but also, for example, the current speed of the vehicle and the weather. If it is cloudy, for example, the pitch of the sound track can be set to a particularly low value and then slowly increased in line with the acceleration. The degree to which the pitch is changed can be further adjusted depending on the current speed of travel.In sunny weather, however, the pitch is initially raised to a high starting level.

[0011] The sound track mixer component combines the individually manipulated sound tracks to create the soundscape. Depending on how many speakers the vehicle has, the sound track mixer component then distributes the soundscape to the corresponding speakers. Parts of the soundscape can also be output to individual speakers, allowing even greater customization of the soundscape perceived in the vehicle. For example, the individual sound tracks can each be assigned to a specific instrument, so that a specific instrument is played through a specific speaker. For example, a drum through a speaker installed near the front of the vehicle under the dashboard, a saxophone through a speaker located in the rear, and a double bass through a speaker integrated into the vehicle's ceiling.This provides the driver with an even deeper immersion in the sound experience. Speakers can be installed both inside the vehicle and outside the vehicle.

[0012] The sound control module and its respective subcomponents can each be implemented as hardware and / or software components. The processing unit in which the sound control module is implemented can be used solely to influence the soundscape, or additional functions can be executed by the vehicle's internal processing unit.

[0013] The sound track input component serves to provide said sound tracks. In the simplest case, the sound track input component represents a purely logical module and can be implemented as a program code section, for example, for reading an audio file from a computer-readable storage medium. A wide variety of sources for sound tracks are possible, which will be discussed in more detail later. The sound track input component thus serves to supply the corresponding sound tracks to the sound track manipulation component.

[0014] An advantageous development of the vehicle according to the invention provides for at least two sound track manipulation components arranged in series or parallel to one another in the same signal flow path between a respective sound track input component and the sound track mixer component. By arranging sound track manipulation components multiple times in series, various effects can be imposed on the same sound track, such as changing the pitch, changing the volume, imposing a loop, imposing a reverberation, and the like. The same or different vehicle parameters can be taken into account by the respective sound track manipulation components. If two sound track manipulation components arranged in parallel to one another are located in the signal flow path of a sound track, the same sound track is duplicated, and each of these duplicated sound tracks is manipulated individually.This allows corresponding sound tracks to be manipulated even more extensively, allowing the creation of even more customizable soundscapes.

[0015] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, at least one sound track input component is configured to artificially generate a sound track depending on at least one vehicle parameter. Generally, the sound track input components serve to read sound tracks provided by an audio source and thus feed them to the sound control module.

[0016] This allows existing sounds, songs, vocals, and the like to be used to create the soundscape. The sound control module can also have at least one sound track input component, which is capable of generating new sound tracks itself depending on the vehicle parameters and correspondingly representing an audio source. For example, a respective sound track input component can generate sine tones whose respective parameters, such as frequency, amplitude, tone duration, or timbre, can be adjusted depending on the vehicle parameters. Several tones can also be combined into one sound track. In terms of physical acoustics, a single sound track can thus contain a single sine tone, several sine tones, or even one or more tones.These sound tracks can be fed to the sound track manipulation components downstream in the signal flow direction and manipulated accordingly depending on the vehicle parameters.

[0017] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention further provides for a music piece decomposition component arranged upstream of the respective sound track input components in the signal flow direction, which component is configured to receive a sound file comprising at least one song, analyze it, identify sound tracks contained in the sound file, extract these tracks, and distribute them to the respective sound track input components arranged downstream in the signal flow direction, with each sound track input component being assigned exactly one sound track. This makes it possible to extract sound tracks from songs, so that songs can be used to create the soundscape in the vehicle and can be manipulated particularly extensively depending on the vehicle parameters. This eliminates the requirement for corresponding songs to be decomposed into the respective sound tracks in advance, for example by a service provider.

[0018] Preferably, a machine learning model is implemented in the music piece decomposition component, which model is trained to identify sound tracks in sound files. With the help of a corresponding machine learning model, sound tracks can be reliably identified and extracted accordingly, and fed to the sound track input components. To train the machine learning model, a certain total number of songs can be provided, with the individual songs manually decomposed into the individual sound tracks by expert personnel. "Manually" here includes the use of the electronics or computer components required for decomposition. The songs can then be fed in their entirety to the machine learning model to be trained. The sound tracks manually extracted from the respective song are then fed to the machine learning model as ground truth.This allows the machine learning model to gradually learn which sound tracks each song is composed of and extract them accordingly.

[0019] Preferably, the music piece decomposition component is configured to receive a sound file from a radio, a computer-readable storage medium to which the computing unit has access, and / or from an internet stream. Thus, a wide variety of audio sources can be used to provide the respective sound tracks or sound files. Using a radio, particularly a vehicle-integrated radio, music pieces such as songs can be provided particularly reliably, since radio reception is generally available, at least in populated regions of the world. However, the user is limited to the music selection of the respective radio station. If, however, the user wishes to hear a specific song, they can read the underlying sound file from a corresponding computer-readable storage medium or use an internet stream.The computer-readable storage medium can be permanently installed in the vehicle's internal processing unit or coupled with it. For example, it could be a mass storage device such as a hard drive or SSD, or an SD card or USB stick that is inserted into a corresponding reading slot in the processing unit. It can also be an optical data storage device such as a CD or DVD. Accordingly, the processing unit communicates with a CD or DVD player.

[0020] The sound file can also be stored on the user's mobile device, such as a smartphone. The smartphone can then be connected to the vehicle's internal processing unit via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, or similar, allowing the vehicle's internal processing unit to access the storage medium. The mobile device and the processing unit can also be connected via a cable, for example, via a USB cable or Ethernet cable.

[0021] The vehicle can also have a telecommunications unit, which is also communicatively connected to the in-vehicle computing unit. This enables data to be exchanged over the internet using a communication connection established via a mobile radio network. This makes it possible to receive music via a streaming service. Instead of an in-vehicle telecommunications unit, the user's mobile device could also be used to establish the wireless communication connection to the internet, a process also known as tethering.

[0022] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the sound control module is configured to read and process a total number of sound tracks, in which each instrument of a song is assigned to its own sound track. For example, a bass, drums (in particular the hi-hat, crash, cymbal, and the like), a guitar, a keyboard, a trumpet, a violin, and vocals can be assigned to a respective individual sound track. This makes it possible to manipulate each instrument or vocals individually depending on the vehicle parameters. This allows for the creation of particularly extensively customizable soundscapes and their output in the vehicle. This provides an even more immersive user experience and accordingly improves user interaction.

[0023] In particular, the music decomposition component can be configured to analyze songs or corresponding sound files accordingly and extract the individual instruments or vocals as individual sound tracks. In the case of polyphonic vocals, each voice can also be assigned to a separate sound track.

[0024] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention further provides for at least one interior microphone, wherein the computing unit is configured to extract at least one sound track from an audio sequence recorded by the interior microphone and feed it to a sound track input component. Thus, sounds in the vehicle interior can be recorded and also used as a source for generating the corresponding soundscape. For example, a vehicle occupant can sing and use their own singing to create the soundscape.

[0025] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, it has a soundtrack composing component which is configured to read in at least one manipulated and / or unmanipulated soundtrack at any point along a respective signal flow path, to process it, and to feed each processed soundtrack back as an input variable to a respective soundtrack input component. Thus, the soundscape to be reproduced in the vehicle or corresponding music can be composed in a loop, so that the soundscape in the vehicle is continually recreated. The soundscape can be adapted so that it never repeats. This allows new music to be generated generatively. The soundtrack composing component can tap corresponding manipulated or unmanipulated soundtracks at any point within the signal flow paths of the sound control module.

[0026] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention further provides that the computing unit is configured to newly instantiate components of the sound control module as needed. This is possible if the respective sound track input components, sound track manipulation components, sound track mixer components, music piece decomposition components, and / or sound track composition components to be newly instantiated are not implemented solely by hardware, but represent software components. Thus, depending on the situation, corresponding components can be newly instantiated, i.e., newly created and used accordingly. For example, the music piece decomposition component can read in a specific sound file comprising a specific song and derive the individual sound tracks from it. The number of sound tracks contained in a specific song can vary considerably.For example, a song with a particularly large number of soundtracks requires more soundtrack input components and corresponding soundtrack manipulation components. These can be reinstated as needed by the vehicle's internal processing unit, allowing such songs to be used to create the manipulated soundscape.

[0027] Further advantageous embodiments of the vehicle according to the invention also emerge from the exemplary embodiments which are described in more detail below with reference to the figures.

[0028] Showing: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a computing unit integrated in a vehicle according to the invention, comprising a sound control module; and Fig. 2 a schematic view of the device shown in Fig. 1 shown sound control module manipulated and grouped sound tracks.

[0029] A vehicle according to the invention (not shown in detail) comprises a Fig. 1. A sound control module 4 is implemented on this. Using the sound control module 4, it is possible to adapt the soundscape output in the vehicle depending on vehicle parameters 2. This makes it possible, in particular, to adapt music to the driving dynamics, resulting in a particularly immersive driving experience.

[0030] The sound control module 4 is shown in its logical structure. The individual subcomponents can consist of hardware components, software components, or combinations thereof.

[0031] A sound file is read out by the processing unit 3, for example, via an Internet stream 10, a computer-readable storage medium 9, for example in the form of an optical data carrier such as a CD or DVD or a mass storage device integrated into the processing unit 3, such as a hard disk or an SSD, or received from a radio 8. The sound file can be analyzed by a music piece decomposition component 4.4, which is set up to Fig. 2 to identify and extract the sound tracks 5 shown in more detail. The music piece decomposition component 4.4 feeds the respective sound tracks 5 to sound track input components 4.1 located downstream in the signal flow direction. This represents only one possible embodiment. Alternatively, corresponding sound tracks 5 could also be fed directly as input to the sound track input components 4.1 (not shown), without having been extracted from a song in the vehicle.

[0032] Several sound track manipulation components 4.2 are used to manipulate the respective sound tracks 5 by the vehicle parameters 2. For each effect 6 to be imposed on a sound track 5 (see Fig. 2) Each signal flow path 7 contains an individual soundtrack manipulation component 4.2. The respective soundtrack manipulation components 4.2 can be connected in series or in parallel (not shown). When two soundtrack manipulation components 4.2 are connected in parallel, the underlying soundtrack 5 is split and thus duplicated.

[0033] The thus manipulated sound tracks 5 are fed to a sound track mixer component 4.3, which mixes the respective sound tracks 5 to form the soundscape to be output in the vehicle. The vehicle can have various sound transducers, in particular in the form of loudspeakers 1. For each of these sound transducers, in particular in the form of loudspeakers 1, the sound track mixer component 4.3 outputs a corresponding output signal 11. Examples are shown in Fig. 1 shows three output signals 11. The respective output signals 11 can contain the same or different parts of the soundscape.

[0034] Furthermore, Fig. 1 a sound track composing component 4.5. The sound track composing component 4.5 is capable of tapping manipulated or unmanipulated sound tracks 5 at any point along the respective signal flow paths 7 and processing them to compose new input signals. For the sake of clarity, Fig. 1 shows the corresponding connection lines only for the lowest signal flow path 7. Furthermore, an output signal 11 from the sound track mixer component 4.3 can also be read as an input signal by the sound track composer component 4.5. Using the sound track composer component 4.5, never-ending, never-repeating, and constantly recurring musical passages can be generated to create the soundscape.

[0035] In Fig. In Figure 1, some of the sound track input components 4.1 are shown in white, while others are hatched. The hatching indicates that the respective sound track input components 4.1 are capable of artificially generating sound tracks 5 from within themselves, depending on the vehicle parameters 2. Thus, a soundscape can be generated in the vehicle without providing a sound file or using another audio source as an input.

[0036] The sound control module 4 is implemented on the vehicle's internal processing unit 3. This ensures real-time processing of the multitude of vehicle parameters 2 and adaptation of a multitude of sound tracks 5. If, however, a device external to the vehicle were used to adapt the soundscape, the corresponding vehicle parameters 2 would first have to be transmitted to the mobile device, which is associated with an increase in latency. This compromises the real-time processing of the corresponding information. Furthermore, more powerful hardware, such as one or more processors (CPUs) or graphics processors (GPUs), can be integrated into the processing unit 3 compared to a mobile device. This allows the computing power and thus the execution speed of the processing unit 3 and thus of the sound control module 4 to be increased compared to solutions known from the prior art.This increases the reliability that required calculation steps are carried out in real time. Adapting the soundscape in real time is necessary to provide the immersive driving experience, as the respective driving dynamics are experienced by the person driving the vehicle at the exact moment the vehicle is steered accordingly. If the soundscape were to occur with even a very small time delay, for example on the order of a few seconds, the perceived driving dynamics could not be complemented by the soundscape. The immersive experience is further enhanced by the particularly extensive customization options for the sound tracks 5. Each sound track 5 can be manipulated depending on each vehicle parameter 2. This allows particularly extensive effects 6 to be imposed.

[0037] Furthermore, the individual sound tracks 5 can be individually adjusted. A single sound track 5 can also be provided for output to multiple loudspeakers 1, which is then adjusted differently for each loudspeaker 1. For example, an artificial engine noise can be generated, which is output via loudspeakers 1 installed in the vehicle interior near the front of the vehicle, depending on the vehicle's acceleration, with comparatively higher tones, and via loudspeakers 1 installed in the rear of the vehicle with lower tones. This allows particularly realistic artificial sounds to be generated and used to create the soundscape.

[0038] In addition, the sound tracks extracted from multiple songs can also be used simultaneously to create the soundscape. This allows entire songs or even parts of songs to be merged into new songs.

[0039] Fig. Figure 2 shows the sound tracks 5 grouped together for some examples. For example, several sound tracks 5 were grouped by vocals, drums, and background musical instruments. Fig. 2 shows the effects 6 applied to the respective sound tracks 5 depending on the vehicle parameters 2. For the sake of simplicity, Fig.2 for each effect 6, the dependency is only on exactly one vehicle parameter 2. In fact, however, many more vehicle parameters 2 can be incorporated into a respective effect 6 (not shown). As an effect 6, for example, the volume can be increased or decreased, an equalizer can be changed, a time offset can be incorporated, a reverberation can be incorporated, the pitch can be changed, and the like. Vehicle parameters 2 of the most diverse forms can be used, such as a steering angle, an acceleration, a pedal position, a fieldbus signal such as a set fan level of a ventilation device, a current position of the vehicle described by geocoordinates, and the like. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] WO 2023 / 011911 A1

[0004]

Claims

[1] Vehicle, comprising means for adapting a soundscape to be output via the vehicle's own loudspeakers (1) as a function of vehicle parameters (2), characterized by a sound control module (4) implemented in a vehicle-internal processing unit (3), comprising at least one sound track input component (4.1) for reading in a sound track (5), at least one sound track manipulation component (4.2) arranged downstream of the respective sound track input component (4.1) in the signal flow direction, by means of which a respective sound track (5) can be manipulated as a function of all vehicle parameters (2) to impose an effect (6), and a sound track mixer component (4.3) arranged downstream of the respective sound track manipulation components (4.2) in the signal flow direction, which sound track mixer component is designed to receive manipulated sound tracks (5), mix them to form a soundscape, and distribute them to the individual loudspeakers (1) for output. [2] Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized byat least two sound track manipulation components (4.2) arranged in series or parallel to one another in the same signal flow path (7) between a respective sound track input component (4.1) and the sound track mixer component (4.3). [3] Vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that at least one sound track input component (4.1) is designed to artificially generate a sound track (5) as a function of at least one vehicle parameter. [4] Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized bya music piece decomposition component (4.4) arranged upstream of the respective sound track input components (4.1) in the signal flow direction, which is set up to receive a sound file comprising at least one song, to analyze it, to identify sound tracks (5) contained in the sound file and to extract these and to distribute them to the respective sound track input components (4.1) arranged downstream in the signal flow direction, wherein exactly one sound track (5) is assigned to each sound track input component (4.1). [5] Vehicle according to claim 4, characterized by that a machine learning model is implemented in the music piece decomposition component (4.4) which is trained to identify sound tracks (5) in sound files. [6] Vehicle according to claim 4 or 5, characterized bythat the music piece decomposition component (4.4) is configured to receive a sound file from a radio (8), a computer-readable storage medium (9) to which the computing unit (3) has access and / or an Internet stream (10). [7] Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the sound control module (4) is designed to read in and process a total number of sound tracks (5), in which each instrument of a song is assigned to its own sound track (5). [8] Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by at least one interior microphone, wherein the computing unit (3) is configured to extract at least one sound track (5) from an audio sequence recorded by means of the interior microphone and to supply it to a sound track input component (4.1). [9] Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized bya sound track composing component (4.5) which is configured to read in at least one manipulated and / or unmanipulated sound track (5) at any point of a respective signal flow path (7), to process it and to feed a respective processed sound track (5) back as an input variable to a respective sound track input component (4.1). [10] Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by that the computing unit (3) is configured to re-instantiate components (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5) of the sound control module (4) as required.

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